When Battered Past Meets Broken Future
by Life'e Favorite Lover
Summary: Draco wasn't always the coldhearted bastard he led on to be. He saved a life when he was younger, his son's. Now they're at Hogwarts together under brotherly identities. What they don't know, though, is that they're not the only ones with hidden relation
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

The summer before the Golden Trio's fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was a memorable one for two young fourteen year olds. Hermione and Draco knew from then on that their lives would never be the same.

In a small town in England, Hermione was putting her bushy hair back into anything that could tame it before her friend, Flora, came over. The two were going to Flora's friend's house for a small get together with some of Hermione's old classmates.

Inspecting herself once more in the mirror, Hermione sighed and threw her sandals on to finish her not-so-special outfit and headed down the stairs.

"Hey babe!" Flora said happily from the living room. While Hermione had on just a pair of jeans with a plain, red T-shirt, Flora was flaunting her features in a pink mini-skirt with a black tank top.

Hermione had to constantly remind herself that Flora was two years older than her and was always going to have curves that she was not afraid to hide.

"So come on," Flora exclaimed, "I can't wait for you to meet Tyler."

Of course. How could Hermione have forgotten that tonight was the night she was meeting Flora's boyfriend, Tyler, for the first time. So far, all she knew about him was that he was a year older than Flora and was a senior in high school. She also knew that he was tall with a head of thick, blonde hair to match his tan skin and green eyes perfectly. He was on the high school's football team and could kick a ball the length of the field. His favorite color was yellow, number was 52, food was macaroni and cheese and band was Nirvana. The way Flora would go on about him, Hermione felt that she knew him her whole life like the annoying mole on her ankle.

"Just a moment, I need to grab my bag," Hermione told Flora, grabbing her overnight bag from beside the stairs. "Can we drop this off at your house before we go? I don't want to have to worry about it all night."

An hour later Hermione was at Matt's house. Matt was a classmate of Tyler's and had apparently invited every sixteen and seventeen year old he knew. The house was packed and people were everywhere.

"We'll just stay for an hour or so, don't worry," Flora convinced Hermione.

Hermione nodded and the girls went in search of Tyler, who was surrounded by his drunken friends. She watched as Flora went up to Tyler, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, and kissed his cheek.

"This is my friend Hermione," Flora told him over the people in the room.

Tyler held out his hand, which Hermione took politely. This was _not_ the evening she had expected.

"Heard nothing but greatness about you," Tyler said with a smile.

Hermione nodded her head, "same here." She turned to Flora. "Er, Flora, I think I'm going to find something to drink."

Flora nodded her head before turning her attention back to Tyler. Hermione walked around the house in search of something to drink. She finally found an almost ignored box of non-alcoholic beers and decided to settle on it before she couldn't find her way back to Flora.

"Are you a friend of Matt's?"

Hermione turned around and looked up. The boy in front of her reminded her of Harry, only with brown hair, more build and blue eyes that weren't hidden behind glasses.

"I'm with Flora, Tyler's girlfriend," Hermione told him. He probably wouldn't remember by tomorrow anyway. He was obviously on his way to being drunk with an almost empty cup of beer in his hand. She opened her can and began to drink it, looking around the room for Flora.

The next morning Hermione woke up in Flora's bed with a massive headache. The last thing she remembered was noticing that her non-alcoholic beer can didn't look like the box she got it out of.

"I see you're finally up," a soft, yet stern voice said form across the room.

Hermione moaned as she tried to put pieces of the previous night together. There was a boy, and another few drinks, and moving. Was she dancing?

"What happened last night?" she groaned.

Flora walked over seriously to Hermione and sat beside her. "You lost your virginity to some guy, that's what happened," she hissed.

Hermione shot up. "I what?" Tears began to form in her eyes. She wanted her first time to be special, or at least something she'd remember.

Flora sighed and put her arms around her upset friend. "I caught you in Matt's room with some guy. I pulled you two away and Tyler helped me bring you here."

"I don't feel so good," Hermione said before running into the bathroom to throw up.

"Draco, I'm pregnant."

Draco stood in the doorway with his jaw hanging open as Sadie walked in casually, yet briskly, and took a seat in the next room. She had a business-like attitude as she watched Draco finally compose himself and tried to sit beside her on the couch.

"Don't get too close," she said with an attitude. "I just want you to know that I'm not keeping it and the only reason why I'm telling you is because my friends threatened to tell you themselves."

"Why aren't you keeping it?" Draco asked quietly. This was all so much.

"Because I am a sixteen year old girl having an almost-sixteen year old's kid because of some random night when we were both horny," she told him in a matter-of-fact tone. Draco shifted in his seat, not wanting to make her feel worse by telling her that he had lied about his age. "Plus I don't exactly feel like giving up my social life so I can be covered with baby spit."

"Ado-"

"I'm not losing my figure so I can have some random kid come up to me in eighteen years to tell me 'by the way, I'm your kid you abandoned when you were a kid. Will you be my mommy?'" Sadie rolled her eyes.

"I'll take him," Draco told her. This was his kid too and he wasn't going to let her kill it. It was his responsibility too.

"_What_?" Sadie looked at Draco in disbelief. "Why would you _want_ to?"

"Because this is my kid too," Draco told her. "I know that neither of us want to get married, or are old enough, and I know that you would be a crappy mother. I don't want to have to live my life and know that I had a son for a few hours before his mother killed him because she wasn't ready for the responsibility. The house elves can help me and he will never have to know you or of you."

Sadie looked at the young boy. She had made such a mistake by telling him. Why the hell did a Malfoy have to grow a heart at the least helpful time?

"I'll personally pay for everything from now until he is born and find a spell to hide the stomach and help with the nausea, just please don't kill our child."

Draco and Sadie had had a fun two months. She was a friend through his father's business and he had lost his virginity to her his first week home. In a few days time, he was to go back to school, where he would be unable to make sure that she wouldn't kill their child. It was his responsibility to make sure that the kid was born into a loving world where he would grow up and hopefully never have to know how close he was to never having a chance to be born.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Come on mom, we're gonna be late!"

Hermione put her earring in her ear and inspected herself in the mirror. The silver butterfly earrings went perfectly with her white, v-neck halter-top that left a few inches between its bottom and the top of her knee-length, black skirt. She looked at her wavy hair and inspected every strand before the girl beside her caught on to what she was doing. It wasn't hard considering that the two were best of friends.

"Stop it, it won't work."

Hermione turned to the petite girl beside her. Elina had sure grown up beautifully. Her mocha colored hair fell to the middle of her back straight with small waves at the bottom. Hermione was grateful that her daughter had not picked out her bushy hair from the gene pool. The girls shared the same chocolate eyes with hazel flecks and long eyelashes. Elina's body was one that her mother had secretly dreamt for when she was the same age. Thin with just the slightest hints of curves without having trouble finding a shirt or pair of pants that fit right. In fact, Elina was wearing a yellow halter-top that tied around her neck and back with a pair of jeans that was mature, yet appropriate for someone her age.

Hermione giggled. "Don't worry, hon. I'm sure that if we miss our flight we can just show up late."

Elina did a sarcastic laugh and grabbed her small, purple knapsack. "Or we can just floo or apparate."

"Not yet Lini," Hermione said with a smile. "Besides, if we floo then you won't be able to take the train."

"But I thought we were going to Diagon Alley today."

"Yeah, I was just tryin to mess with ya," Hermione said, pulling on the smaller girl's ponytail. Hermione was so excited for next week that she had actually forgotten that they were going to Diagon Alley today. "You have everything?"

Elina motioned at the knapsack on her back and the two left their beautiful apartment in Italy for their last time.

Hermione and Elina never lived anywhere for too long. Elina lived with Hermione's parents while she was in school, telling everyone that the two were sisters, as there were a few months short of fifteen years apart. As soon as Hermione was out of school, the two moved to France until Elina was six, for three years. For two years after that they lived in New York City. For three years they were in Greece. They then lived in Israel for another a year and a half before moving to Italy where they had been for two years. Elina had no problem with the moving around. She quite enjoyed it and never lost touch with the friends she made while she stayed in whatever country they resided. Hermione, though, hated moving her daughter around so much, but whatever she did, nothing would stick and they would have to go somewhere else. They stayed with her parents during holidays and when they went to get Elina's first wand. Hermione wouldn't let her have anything but Ollivander's.

They were finally moving out of their apartment in Italy today and were embarking on a new part of their lives. Hermione had gotten a job that she could never say no to, that would also benefit Elina.

"Let's go then," Hermione said, snapping out of her thoughts by the sound of a car's honking outside.

The two got into Hermione's friend's car and they watched as their apartment building got smaller and smaller. Their stuff was all minimized and in a package on it's way to their new home where it would hopefully stay for a long time.

"Stella!" Elina shrieked as she ran to the gate.

Hermione watched as Ron's eldest daughter, Stella, was scooped into Elina's arms. How Ron had a five-year-old daughter was beyond her. Then again, her daughter was fourteen, and she herself was two weeks from twenty-nine.

"Where's your mommy and daddy?" Hermione asked the small, blonde girl with more freckles than she could count.

"Right behind you."

Hermione flipped around and pulled her old friend into a hug.

"I still can't believe you took her on a business trip with you," Hermione told Ron in disbelief.

"She actually had a pretty good time," Ron told one of his best friends for fifteen years. "I still can't believe you and Elina are finally going to be closer to home."

"Well _I_ can't believe you didn't let me take Stella while you two were here." Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"Well I thought that you and Elina might have wanted to be able to get ready."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she brought her redheaded friend over to the two girls who were engaged in a game of 'Ring Around the Rosie.'

"I still can't believe how big she is," Ron told Hermione quietly so that the girls couldn't hear them.

Hermione sighed. "I know. Well why don't we take them to get some lunch before the flight?"

"DAD!"

"MILES!"

Draco came running down the stairs to try to catch his son off guard.

"Don't even think about it," the thirteen-year-old said, flipping around and grabbing his dad's legs.

"Well I see you've been practicing," Draco laughed, getting up from the floor. "Now you got your ticket?"

"I still don't see why we can't just floo," Miles muttered.

"Because I said so and we're out of floo powder, that's why," Draco said, giving one of his trademark smirks.

Miles rolled his eyes and grabbed his knapsack. He looked up at his dad, whom he was the spitting image of as a boy. The only difference was the nose. His dad would always say that he had his mother's nose, but that was all that he would ever say about her. Draco didn't like to discuss it. Miles didn't know who he didn't want to discuss it for.

"Come on, let's get out of this place," Miles said with a smirk to challenge his father's.

"I still can't believe we're leaving 'this place', as you so unrespectfully called it," Draco replied.

The two had lived in their two-story house for nearly two years, after living in Ireland for three years when Draco graduated from Hogwarts. As soon as he could, he left England and moved with his son to Ireland, where he continued his magical studies. He felt that he needed to get out of England, to start over somewhere. They lived in Ireland where Draco was married for four years. After the bitter divorce that dragged on for six months, Draco and Miles moved to Spain to start fresh once again.

"Well at least it isn't Ireland," Miles said with a light laugh. His former step-mother, who never legally adopted him, thank goodness, had connections all along the small country (A/N living in the U.S., Ireland looks small, but _beautiful_ as soon as I run away from home and join the circus, I am so visiting…unless my friend drags me there for St. Patrick's Day on her backpacking adventure first) and was never even in his favor. The woman, he felt was always too fake.

"I will drink to that," Draco's laugh responded before he finished off his last bit of coffee. He picked up his bag and looked around once more before following his son out of the house and to the taxi waiting outside.

"(A/N WARNING: My Spanish sucks!) El aerporte por favor," Draco told the cab driver.

"So Draco, are we going to see mom during the holidays?" Miles asked. Draco had kept his promise to Sadie, and in public, he and Miles were known as brothers.

Draco leaned back in his seat and thought to himself. His mother was proud of him for his responsible behavior regarding Miles, but not of his getting a girl pregnant at such a young age and helped to take care of Miles when Draco was at school. Lucius tried to keep Miles on a low profile and under the radar for social reasons. He did not want anyone knowing that he had an illegitimate grandson, but now that he was at Azkaban, Draco didn't care what he thought. Narcissa was the one who made sure that Miles was taken care of and made up for her husband's behavior. "If you want to."

Miles thought about it. He only got to see his grandmother every so often, not that he cared to see his grandfather, and appreciated the time he spent with her.

The rest of the twenty-minute cab ride was spent in silence. Draco thought to himself about the next year, wondering what it would be like while Miles had the same topic on his mind.


	3. Chapter 3

WARNING: SARCASM UP AHEAD

Chapter Three

Patty cake, Patty cake. Baker's man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can."

Hermione looked over Ron and sighed once again. The girls were sitting across the aisle with Ron in seats 8d, e and f and she took over seats 8 a, b and c. The plane wasn't as crowded as she expected, but it was at least three quarters full. She turned back to her book and continued to read. The plane had been in the air for a little over an hour and a half with another twenty minutes to go.

The plane finally landed and most people got off the plane. Hermione, Ron, Elina and Stella, though, remained in their seats, waiting for the plane to fill up once more and take off yet again.

"Oh my god!" Hermione playfully screeched like a schoolgirl. "It's Harry Potter! The world famous seeker!"

Elina pretended to fake while Ron bumbled around asking for Harry's autograph. Harry rolled his eyes at his friends and crossed his arms. "Ha. Ha. Are you quite done now?"

Hermione giggled and nodded her head. Harry walked past the laughing Ron and took the seat directly behind him.

"Hello everyone," a tender voice said. Hermione turned around and put a smile on her face as Harry's fiancé, Selene, walked up to them. Her black hair fell straight down to the middle of her back, doing anything if not enhancing her curvaceous figure. Harry jumped up and let Selene get to the seat beside him, receiving a perfect view of her pearly whites, surrounded by soft lips in the shape of a smile. "Sorry I lost you honey, but you will never guess who I found."

"Ginny?" Ron asked, somewhat bitter. Harry's and Ginny's divorce had been nothing but friendly as they realized that it was like being married to a friend who they had sex with. Only Ron continued to insist that the two were meant for each other, not wanting to see his sister with men he didn't approve of.

"Yes," Selene giggled. "How did you know?"

"Because she's right behind that man with the hat."

Everyone looked over at Ginny, who spotted them and waved. Her bright red hair was in curls surrounding her head and shook as she made her way over to the seat across from Harry and behind Hermione.

"Hi guys," she said, finally putting down her bag. "What did I miss?"

"Well Harry over there is being completely obnoxious and refuses to give even his best friend a simple autograph," Hermione said sarcastically.

The five adults got wrapped up in a conversation as the plane continued to fill up with passengers. They all decided to relax a little and get settled in before the plane took off when Hermione heard a sound she wished would never come from Elina's mouth. She followed the young girl's eyes to a fourteen or fifteen year-old boy with tan skin and blonde hair walking with a handsome man about ten or more years older who looked almost exactly the same. The boy was walking confidently, glancing every few seconds as Elina and smiling at her until he reached Hermione.

"Stop eye flirting and turn right," the man with him said. Hermione stood up so they could get into their seats. "Thanks."

Hermione sat down and tried not to blush. The man was gorgeous, but there was something familiar about him and she wasn't the only person who noticed.

"Can't put your finger on it either?" Harry whispered to her.

Hermione shook her head and tried not to look over. She rolled her eyes and looked at Ron. "Ron, would you mind switching seats with my dear sister so that she does not fall over when the plane begins to move?"

Ron turned around and saw what Hermione was talking about. He let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Come on Elina. Time to be nothing like your sister."

Hermione turned around and found herself an inch from the man. He had a humored smirk on his face. "Sorry about him. Would you like to switch seats with him so he doesn't end up drooling all over your dress?"

Hermione giggled and stood up. The boy, blushing madly, switched seats with her, leaving Hermione in the window seat. "So at least we don't have to worry about them being bored during the flight," she joked quietly. "Mye, by the way." Hermione held out her hand. She decided to give him her nickname that she gave out, annoyed about when people would have trouble pronouncing her name or asking about it.

"Drake," Draco said, shaking hers. Tired of the dragon jokes and wanting a new start without having to change everything, he just gave people the first syllable of his name. "Pleasure."

"And you." Hermione looked at him. "British?"

"Yes, how could you tell?" He asked with an amused smile.

"Spent the first seventeen years of my life in the UK," she told him.

"Well I would never be able to tell. Where have you been hiding for the past five years?"

Hermione laughed. "Five?" Draco gave her an innocent look. "Close enough." She giggled. "Italy, New York, France and Israel. And you? Going home or visiting?"

"Moving actually. The kid got accepted to a boarding school that offered me a job so we're off to reshape our lives. But before that, Ireland the second I got out of school then Spain once the divorce papers were finalized," Draco told her. "My parents wanted him to live with me."

"Oh really?" Hermione asked. "Same with me any my sister. So what are you guys? Brothers?"

"Yeah. Parents decided to wait until I was a teenager to handle a baby, haha."

Hermione laughed with him.

"I'm sorry, but there is something familiar about you and I just can't put my finger on it," Draco said, staring at her.

"Me too," Hermione said, staring back. "Where did you live in England?"

"It was a small town, but I went to boarding school for most of the year."

The topic soon changed and before the seatbelt sign turned off, Ginny was motioning at Harry and Ron at Hermione flirting with the mystery man and Elina and Miles were talking about Hogwarts.

Elina recognized a sticker on Miles's bag as a wizard band and asked him what school he went to. Their parents didn't hear them say anything about the other being a witch or wizard and Hermione's friends were too wrapped up in their adult lives.

"So what is this mystery school you're teaching at?" Hermione asked Draco after thirty minutes of "talking."

Draco took a sip of his ginger ale and looked at her. "Well I would tell you, but I'd have to kill you," he half joked. "And you?"

"Well since you stole my response to the question I guess I'll just have to tell you that it's a school very few people have heard of," Hermione said, trying not to sound too evasive.

"So I guess I'll just have to find out when I call you, huh?" Draco asked, smiling into his drink as he took another sip.

Hermione smiled, "Well first you'd need my number, which I just happen to have memorized. My memory just needs to be triggered by another phone number."

"Well that is not a problem considering that I just happen to have _mine_ memorized."

"Wow, now what are the chances that this would happen?"

"I don't know. It must be in the stars." The two smiled at each other. Hermione finally let her sarcastic smile turn into a giggle. Which lead to a laugh, imitated by the sound of Draco's laughter.

"Where are you staying in London?" Hermione asked. "Family?"

Draco shook his head. "A small inn above a pub near the Underground."

"The Leaky Cauldron?" Hermione asked.

"How did you know?"

"It isn't exactly a hidden spot," she joked.

"So are you a-"

"Yes."

A/N OKAY, SO I BEGAN WRITING THIS LAST WEEK WHEN I WAS TWO MINUTES FROM SLEEP AND DIDN'T FINISH IT UNTIL TONIGHT WHEN I WAS THIRTY SECONDS. I AM SORRY IT SUCKED BUT YOU GOT THE IDEA. NOT THE ONE I WANTED, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Platform 9 ¾

Hermione looked at Draco, wondering if she had ever met him, but a crowd began to push through the aisle, pulling Miles with it. Draco called over the crowd to tell Miles to wait at the gate for him, but a group of businessmen began arguing over a deal was pulling them apart. He looked from Hermione to Miles, but was pulled along with Miles in the crowd.

By the time Hermione was able to fight her way into the crowd, after wondering what to do, Draco and Miles were on the other side of the gate looking for her.

"At least tell me you got his number." Hermione whipped her head around and looked at Ginny.

She shook her head slowly and looked around once more. "He said he was staying at the Leaky Cauldron." She looked at Ginny with an excited smile.

"Plus your daughter found out where his brother's going to school."

Hermione's eyes flew open and she clapped her hand onto Ginny's mouth. "_Gin_!" she hissed. Ginny was the only person Hermione ever told about Elina, though she actually found out on her own and became Elina's godmother when Flora was sent away to an all girls boarding school in France by her parents for the next three years. Hermione and Flora wrote to each other though until Flora's return two years after she was supposed to come home.

"Sorry Hermione," Ginny said when Hermione let her breathe again. "I still don't get why you still refuse to tell Harry and Ron."

"Because if I do then it might slip about you "accidentally" kissing Jacques while you were in Paris a year before you two decided to split." Hermione told Ginny.

"He already knows, Hermione." Hermione gaped at Ginny. Why would she have told Harry? "But it's your secret so it's your choice. Now back to hottie."

"Drake."

"Hot name."

"You sound like we're still in school," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Back to _Drake_. Hermione, you have to get out there and-"

"Oy, girls, we're going!"

Hermione and Ginny looked over at Harry, Ron, and Selene with the girls. Elina had Stella on her back and was jumping around in circles as if trying to make the small girl fall off. She was disappointed about having lost Drake, but she knew where he was going to be staying for the next few weeks. Maybe they would "bump" into each other.

"So where are we off to first?" Hermione asked.

"Harry thought that since Luna is going to be working until six we could all go back to Ron's house and relax so we can go out for dinner," Elina said, putting Stella into the cab.

"Well as long as the word 'relax' is part of our plans…" Hermione said, getting into the front seat. With Stella sitting securely beside Elina, the taxi drove off to Ron's house twenty minutes away. Ron, Ginny, Harry and Selene apparated to get there more quickly.

Ron's house was a modestly large, two story house with six bedrooms where everyone stayed when they were all together, despite Ginny's flat thirty minutes away and Harry's house down the block. Whenever they didn't have enough rooms they would use magic.

"Daddy!"

A small, three-year-old girl and boy walked into the entrance hall of the house. They both had sandy-blonde hair and a candy bar in hand.

Ron got on one knee and grabbed his fraternal twin children in a big hug.

"There's the terrible two!" Ron exclaimed. "How were you two for mommy while Stella and I were away?"

"Mommy's fat!" Tammy, the girl, said with a mischievous smile.

"Well that is because mommy is popping out another one of you monsters," Ron told them.

"I wanna be Frankenstein! Roar!" Peter, the boy, broke his candy bar in half and held the two pieces on his neck and began to walk around the house like Frankenstein's monster.

"That's Frankenstein's monster dummy," Stella said from the doorway.

Elina and Hermione walked in with their bags and picked up a twin each.

"And how have you been little Peter?" Elina asked.

"I'm not little! I'm Frankenstein!" Peter yelled.

"And a very scary mad scientist at that."

"Luna! Are you home?" Ron called out.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Everyone heard. A small, blonde woman waddled into the hall and kissed her husband.

"Watch it," Ron joked. "You could put an eye out with that stomach."

Luna playfully slapped his arm before going over to hug her old friends.

"Hello Harry. How's the team?"

"Well if you would come over and see a game you would see how wonderful he is," Selene told her, not meaning to be rude.

"Sorry Selene if running daddy's magazine, which by the way is now ranking number three in the country, and raising four kids with another on the way is getting in the way of catching your fiancé's game, which I have covered by a big fan of Harry's to ensure that nothing negative is said about him or the team," Luna said with a tone of hostility. She never completely warmed up to Selene, like the other girls and Ron. She turned to Ginny and Hermione who were playing with her middle daughter. "So Gin, how's the public relations business?"

"Not bad," Ginny replied. "I just got a new client in the States so that's where I'll be for the next few months."

"Ah, a nomad, just like our little friend Hermione." Everyone in the room laughed except for Hermione, who only smiled.

"Well don't worry guys," she told them, "this year we will be in the same place and then back in September again and again. We're not flaking again." Everyone wooed and cheered. Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

"Hear hear!" Elina said. "I say dinner at the Cheesecake Factory!"

Everyone agreed. After Hermione and Harry introduced them all to Serendipity in New York they had become addicted to any muggle restaurant famous for anything desserts. They decided to take some time to relax, shower, and decide where they were going (A/N Does the UK have Cheesecake Factory?).

Four hours later they were seated at a booth in a crowded Cheesecake Factory catching up on everything since they last saw each other, thought they spoke at least once a week. The adults also reminisced about Hogwarts and down-talked about all other schools Hermione sent Elina to.

"I don't care how bloody high it ranks in academics," Ron began in the middle of his third piece of cake, "no school could ever teach you more than Hogwarts."

Harry nodded his head. "Where else can you find a Death Eater impersonating an auror to place you under an unforgivable?"

"Exactly," Hermione agreed, almost accidentally splashing Ginny's face, which was across from hers, with the Calypso Coffee in her hand.

"I said this seventh year, in university, at all of our weddings, and I will say it right now. Give me the alcohol, you can not hold it", Harry said with a serious smile, leaning over to take her drink.

"If you think that's something, remember your bachelorette party Ginny?" Luna said with a giggle.

Everyone looked at a red Ginny, who remembered the bachelorette party that they had…after promising Harry that they wouldn't.

With a sly smile to his ex-wife, Harry leaned over and whispered, "I just hope it was better than the one Ron threw for me," with a wink.

Selene pulled Harry's arm a little tighter around her shoulder and smiled. She knew about everyone's hostility in the beginning of hers and Harry's relationship and that everyone had been friends since school, but sometimes felt left out because of those reasons.

"So now that the ceremonial 'taking the alcohol away from 'Mione' has come and gone, let's pay the check so we can get the little ones to bed," Ginny said, trying to change the topic.

Everyone looked over at Tammy, Peter, and Stella were in a tangle off on the inside of the large booth beside Luna with their youngest sibling, one-year-old Damian, asleep in the stroller beside the only person to be able to get him to behave in a muggle restaurant, Hermione, on the end of the table.

"They look so innocent when they're not running around, high on sugar," Ginny said, knowing what trouble her nieces and nephews were capable of.

Ron rolled his eyes and replied, "as soon as I learn the spell, we are done."

"What do you mean we?" Luna laughed. "I don't see you squeezing eleven pounds of baby out of your vagina every year."

Mile walked around the bizarre shopping area. There were stores as far as the eye could see, all magical. Back home it was nothing like this. It felt like an outdoor mall where you could buy a flying broom.

"Okay, put your eyes back in your head kid," Draco said. He looked around at the old stores. They had been there his entire childhood, the last time he was there thirteen years ago. It was as though the only thing to have changed was him. "We're here to meet _mum_."

Miles knew why he had to pretend that his grandmother was his mother, in fact, until Draco moved them to Ireland, he thought that she _was_ his mother. He even still thought that for two years after they moved there, as Draco didn't just throw it in his face and because he was too young to understand right away. Now they were having their first English meal in years with her after meeting her in the pub they were staying in. Draco had brought him to Diagon Alley a few minutes before they were supposed to meet her, though, as it was his first time seeing it.

"I thought I might find you two here," a warm voice said from behind them.

Draco turned around and swept his mother in a hug. It was no secret that she loved Lucius Malfoy and wasn't under a spell or potion when they married, but the transformation she made after his death to her old self did not go unnoticed throughout the magical community. Her blonde hair, now almost silvery, still flowed down her back and she still looked frail enough to break in two with just a hug, but she was stronger and had more of a light in her eyes.

"Mum!" Miles cried out. Despite knowing that his 'mum' was his 'gran', he still continued to call her 'mum,' especially after she told him several times that 'gran' meant that she was old, something that was an insult to a woman with her beauty. Something shared between grandmother and grandson were their vain and age jokes and comments Besides, she was like his mother. She was the one who raised him for the first years of his life. "How are you?"

"I'll be better once you give a young mother a better 'hello' than that." Miles chuckled and put his arms around her. "Much better. So how are you little bugger?"

"Taken from my home and friends, going into my fourth year where I will be able to insult people in another language without them knowing, not bad" Miles told her with a smirk.

"That's my boy." She looked up at his father. Oh, how her Draco had grown in these thirteen years. "And how are you professor?"

"Just hoping that this one doesn't get me into too much trouble this year," Draco replied. He held out his arm. "Now where are we off to milady?"

"I have reservations at a wonderful little Thai restaurant in twenty minutes. I thought we could have a quick drink first then apparate over, with Miles at my side, of course," Narcissa said, taking Draco's arm and leading them into the Leakey Cauldron. "And do not even think of protesting when I buy this one all of his school supplies tomorrow."

Elina woke up the next day bright and early to go into Diagon Alley. The first place she wanted to head out to was Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes where she got whatever she wanted for free if she could stump three pranks. She looked out the wet window and threw on a pair of baggy brown pants with a yellow Sugarlips tank top and threw her hair into a ponytail. The weather outside looked like it had just rained all night, but that wasn't going to keep her from going to Diagon Alley today. She and Hermione left in five days and no crummy looking weather would keep her from seeing her store-owner friends she made whenever she came to her birth-country.

Hermione, Harry and Ron were all already in the kitchen. As usual, Ron was eyeing the food Hermione was putting out on the table and Harry was reading the newspaper.

"So are you guys coming with us to Diagon Alley?" Hermione asked the boys.

"I have to go with Selena and Ginny to find a place for the wedding, but I'm sure I can sneak out by lunch," Harry said.

"You've only been engaged for five months," Ron aid, "are you sure you want to jump in and find a place so soon?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron and Elina silently giggled from beside the door. "Ron, your sister, Harry's ex-wife, is okay with this wedding and is even the bride's maid slash wedding planner slash the one who suggested that she and Harry take time off," she turned around. "Let it go."

Ron crossed his arms on the table and mumbled into his forearms.

"That's what I thought now help me with this delicious breakfast," Hermione said as she pulled Ron up by his shirt and dragged him to the stove.

Harry laughed at his friends. He missed the days when they would just fool around, nothing serious, unless you counted having to fight Voldemort every year.

Elina thought that this was a good of a time as any to come into the kitchen. She greeted everyone 'good morning' in Italian.

"How many languages does this girl know?"

Miles woke up the next morning in his twin bed beside an open book he fell asleep reading. Mum (Narcissa) always gave him interesting books whenever he came to visit, constantly bringing down Draco's bringing 'culture' and 'literature' into the house, though she never truly meant it.

He sat up and groggily made his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a shower, but when he looked at his dad's watch on the sink and saw that he had only thirty minutes before he had to be downstairs to meet with Narcissa to go for breakfast then school shopping.

After jumping on the other bed in the room, fighting over the bathroom and throwing on the first clothes he could find, Miles was out the door, locking it from the outside to run down to beat his father to the Leaky Cauldron, only to see that Draco apparated from the bathroom and was drinking a cup of tea.

"Took you long enough."

Miles sneered at the smug blonde and walked out with his two favorite people in the world.

The next five days were uneventful. Hermione brought Elina to Diagon Ally in hopes of seeing 'Drake' and Draco looked around in hopes of finding 'Mye.' They didn't call the other, not wanting to seem to needy or like they were trying too hard. Hermione picked up her phone many times and dialed the first five numbers several times before stopping, wondering what he wasn't calling her. Drraco, on the other hand, would stare at the phone, begging for it to ring. His divorce didn't scare him enough to be afraid, but something still held him back from making the first move, at least this time for some reason.

Harry, Ron, Luna and the children went with Hermione and Elina to Kings Cross on September 1st. Ginny and Slene had a mystery wedding appointment and couldn't come. Hermione and Elina made sure to hug everyone, as they would most likely not see them until the end of the school year and boarded the big train with the rest of the students.

"A teacher on the Hogwarts Express," Harry said so only Hermione and Ron could hear, "remind you of anything?"

The trio laughed and bid each other farewell once more before separating once again so that Hermione could move to another home.

Hermione threw a red robe over her black slacks and white button-up shirt (with the top three buttons undone, of course). She carefully fastened her gold necklace with a gold lion head with ruby eyes around her neck. The lion hung perfectly, ending right where her shirt buttons did.

"I'm going to go pretend to do something and find the heads. They're probably at the prefect meeting at the head of the train receiving instructions," Hermione told Elina. "Do you want to meet up later or something?"

"I think I'll go wander around for a while," Elina replied. "Maybe a boy will lose his toad and I'll meet my new best friends?" She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and walked away.

Hermione laughed and watched her daughter's retreating figure as it went down the train. Maybe she shouldn't have let Elina wear the baggy red miniskirt and yellow shirt outfit with the black shoes that made her look seventeen and foreign, she thought with a chuckle as she walked down the train in the other direction.

Miles jumped out of the limousine and grabbed his bag from the seat as Draco helped his mother out the door. Narcissa had to go to Pipperny Hall to help finish setting up for a fund raiser she was organizing for that night. With quick 'good-bye's, Draco and Miles were running late onto the platform and jumping onto the train less than a minute before the doors closed.

Draco had already spoken to Professor MdGonagall and had told her that he would patrol the train every so often for her on the way to the school. Miles left Draco almost immediately saying something that sounded like "Told Elina I'd meet her in compartment three."

Draco had never heard of an Elina, so assumed that he had misheard the boy and threw a black robe over his slacks and green button-up shirt before heading off to see if he could make the trip up more interesting than walking up and down a train. After fifteen minutes of having to avoid the older girls, though, he decided to hide away in one of the back cars and read a book.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, so after an edit and being grounded for far too long I have forgotten the details, so here are the new ones and I hope that they are right. Elina and Miles are going into their fourth year and Hermione and Draco are 28…or 29. I'll decide in this or the next chapter.

Chapter Five

Hermione stepped onto the platform and took in the familiar scent around her.

"Firs' years over here!"

"Hagrid!" Hermione ran up to her old friend and embraced him in a friendly hug. "It's been too long!"

"Yeah," he agreed. "Sorry I couldn't make it to Harry's last month. Me 'n Olympe were still in Paris."

"Oh yes, Happy anniversary. How is she?"

"She's fine. OY! You second years, off the boat!" Hagrid turned back to Hermione. "Sorry Hermione. I' have to get back to these ne'er do wells."

Hermione waved good-bye and headed over to the carriages to make sure everyone was in one. She saw Elina with the boy from the plane, which meant the Dray should be somewhere nearby! There he was, twenty yards ahead! She walked quickly to the carriage and stepped in.

"Oh, hi," she said, as though she didn't know he was in there. "Dray, right?"

"Yeah," he said, a large smile coming to his face. "Mye, from the plane, right?"

"Yes. So how have you been?"

"Great. I meant to call you-"

"Me too."

"But my mother came and didn't let me and my brother out of her sight."

"And my friends and sister kept barging into the room every time I got a free moment."

"Well now that we exchanged excuses-" Hermione giggled, "how have you been?"

"I've been great. We went to Diagon Alley a few times, but I didn't see you. How have you been?"

"Great. Miles and I were dragged everywhere by our mom. She gets a little too excited when we come to visit," Draco said.

The two talked the entire carriage ride to the school and continued until they took their seats, which were beside each other and only stopped to listen to the sorting.

"I didn't know that this was the teaching job you were talking about," Draco said as soon as Dumbledore began his speech. "What class are you taking over?"

"Potions," she told him. "Snape was made headmaster of Durmstrang. How about you? I didn't know that there were other positions."

"Well, Flitwick decided to pursue his lifelong dream, whatever that was, so Dumbledore asked me if I wanted to be the new Charms professor, but, wait, does this mean that you're the new head of the Slytherin house?"

"I don't know," Hermione said. "They didn't really tell me anything. How do you know so much about Hogwarts?"

"I graduated from here a few years ago."

"Me too. What house were you in?"

"Now, on a very pleasant note, we have two new additions to our faculty." Hermione and Draco looked up and pretended to pay attention. "Hermione Granger, your new potions professor and head of the Gryffindor house."

"_Granger_?"

"And Draco Malfoy, your new Charms professor and head of Ravenclaw house."

"_Malfoy_?"

"Madame Hooch shall be taking over the position of head of the Slytherin house and Professor McGonagall will be stepping down as head of the Gryffindor housel, Now let the feast begin."

Hermione and Draco were staring at each other with shocked expressions until a two paper balls hit each of their faces. They looked out to find where they came from and saw Miles and Elina sitting at the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, next to each other.

"Open them," Elina mouthed.

Hermione opened her paper ball. It said: Stop fighting. You're causing a scene. I didn't know you were the head of the Ravenclaw House!

Hermione looked up without finishing the letter and smiled at her kid…sister. She turned to Draco, who was making a face at Miles. "Draco," he turned to look at her, "we are now colleagues and our siblings are apparently friends."

"So what do you propose Granger?"

"A truce."

They shook hands and wrote on the paper balls, which they each threw back at their kids.

After dessert, Hermione tried to go to with the Ravenclaws to their common room to talk to Elina, but Professor McGonagall stopped her and Draco at the door.

"Welcome back" she greeted them. "How it is so good to see the two of you again. Follow me and I will show you to your quarters."

"Wait, _our_ quarters?" Hermione asked.

"No, do not worry Miss Granger, but they will be connected. Unfortunately we weren't able to fix that, but it might be a good idea because your rooms also connect to each of the houses, as do all of the professor's quarters. Come this way please."

Draco and Hermione silently followed their former teacher down several hallways, up five flights of stairs and through a long corridor until they reached a painting of a field.

"Stroke the third petal clockwise from the top to enter your room Miss Granger," she said. She took a few steps to the left, stopping at a suit of armor. "Compliment his helmet to enter your room Mr. Malfoy. I shall see the two of you bright and early tomorrow morning at breakfast to give you further instructions and your schedules. Good night."

Hermione stroked the petal and Draco said "your helmet looks very shiny tonight" and they stepped into their rooms.

The first thing Hermione did when she entered her room was change into a more casual outfit and go to her new house to meet some of the students and say hi to, oh wait, Elina wasn't in her old house.

Hermione took in a deep breath and inhaled the familiar scent and looked around. It had been over a decade since she was in the Gryffindor common room, yet it was still the same. She looked around and saw a group of students off in the corner playing exploding snap, another group of girls talking and gossiping, and just more cliques scattered around the room. The room was filled with chatter from everyone.

"Hermione!" Hermione turned around and smiled at a tall boy who greeted her with a large hug.

"Hi Darren," Hermione said back. "How are you? How're your uncle and the folks? You are too tall to be a sixth year, you're making me old." She stepped back and took a look at him. He was nearing six-feet with a head of shaggy brown hair and a preppy/rocker look.

"Not bad. Folks are fine in Texas, but Uncle Lupin's taking good care of me. And of course I'm making you old because you are old." Hermione smirked and lifted her hand as if to slap him. "You wouldn't hit a student on your first day ma'am. So how's Elina? I saw that she was sorted into Ravenclaw."

"I was hoping to visit her, but my old brain must have forgotten that she wasn't in my old house."

Darren laughed with Hermione and took her around the common room, introducing her to all of his class and housemates.

"Okay, it's nearing my old-lady bedtime," Hermione said at eleven-thirty. "I'll see you all tomorrow morning and make sure I don't have a reason to give you detention."

Everyone laughed and bid her farewell. As she walked down the hall, though, Hermione realized that she didn't want to go to bed or look over her lesson plans, so she decided to walk around the castle and see where her feet took her.

"Antidisestablishmentarianism."

The portrait to the Ravenclaw common room opened and Draco took a step into the new territory. There were bookworms everywhere, but the place was nothing like he imagined. Groups of students were scattered around the room listening to music, talking, showing off pictures from the summer and playing games. After trying to talk to the students for a few minutes, he decided that it was time to leave the common room, especially since a few students were beginning to flirt with him.

As he walked down the hall, he saw a few shadows disappear around a corner. He quickened his pace and looked around to see who it was. It was Miles and the girl from the plane stepping into the kitchens!

Elina looked at her watch. It was nearing curfew, so she excused herself from the other students she was talking to and ran up the stairs to her dorm. She made sure no one was there and took the gifts from Harry, Ron and her mom out of her trunk and stuffed them into her cloak pocket and sat on her bed.

taptap

She looked up at the window and saw Miles on his broom.

"Right on time," she said with a smile ad she swung her leg over the broom and held on to the handle.

"How did you do that?" Miles said, nodding over at her bed.

There was a lump under the comforter shaped like a small girl.

Elina smirked and looked back at him. "Harry Potter taught me that trick. It give the illusion that I'm asleep in there. What did you do?"

"Wow, you do belong in here. I just threw some pillows under the blankets and bribed another third year to cover for me," Miles said as he began to fly to a lower window towards the east.

"I guess," Elina said, "but Hermione and I kind of expected for me to be put in Gryffindor. Even the hat thought that it would be the best choice for me. Three more windows."

"Then why did it put you in Ravenclaw?" Miles asked as he slowed the broom and pulled over to the window.

Elina leaned over and picked the lock on the window and opened it for them to climb through. "Hermione's head of Gryffindor. Ravenclaw was the next best."

"That sucks. We might have been able to sneak out together instead and I wouldn't be out thirty galleons and a chocolate frog."

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

"What's that?"

"Another present from Harry Potter and Ron Weasley," Elina said, pulling out a cloak from her pocket, "along with this. Get under."

Miles pulled the silver fabric over his head and asked, "What is this?"

"An invisibility cloak. Harry and Ron didn't want me to come to Hogwarts unprepared." She looked down at the map with the tip of her wand glowing and began to lead Miles to the kitchens.

"You! Why aren't you in bed?" Hermione called down the hall at the shadow.

"Granger?" the figure called back. It was Draco! "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not allowed to walk around my alma mater? What are you doing out this late?"

Draco turned around and looked down the hall. "Miles and your sister were just here. I saw them. Where did they go?"

"Malfoy, you're seeing things. Go back to the quarters."

"Listen Granger, I know that I saw them."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Okay, then where did they go?"

"It's a bloody magic school!" Draco sighed, knowing that he was getting nowhere. "Fine Granger, have it your way. I'll see you at breakfast."

Hermione watched as Draco walked down the hall. As soon as she saw the he was out of sight, she turned around and looked down the empty hall. "Okay Elina, take off the cloak or I'll summon it."

Elina and Miles suddenly materialized behind a statue and walked towards her.

Hermione smirked at her daughter. "You spend too much time with my friends. You're out on your first night in a new school past curfew with a boy from another house."

"It was my idea Professor," Miles said. "I wanted to see her so I showed up at her window."

"And you told her to bring her invisibility cloak?" Miles stuttered a bit, but Hermione interrupted him. "Next time you sneak out I want you two to keep a better eye on the map and not get caught. You're just lucky that it wasn't Snape."

"You're Snape, Hermione,"

Hermione laughed. "Just get back to bed you two. And don't forget that I have my own map in case you decide to take the long way."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Welcome to third year potions, better known as third-level hell," Hermione began her second period with a serious tone and face to match. She strolled between the rows of empty desks. The students were looking at her, terrified of what their new teacher and beloved idol had in store for them. "Potions is 20 focus, 30 math, 45 common sense and 5 instinct!" Hermione turned to face her students and cracked a smile. "But that's just if you want to take out fun and curiosity."

A nervous laughter swept through the classroom as Hermione let a piece of chalk copy the notes she'd prepared on the board. This was her second class of the day, the first class being first years who she didn't give the speech to, and now she had third years, which included Elina and Miles.

"Someone make me a happy professor and tell me a fun way for me to learn your names and get you more interested in this class than Snape ever did," Hermione continued. She waited for someone to raise their hand. "Hufflepuff in the back."

"The Aura Potion," the girl said in a confident voice.

"Five to Hufflepuff," Hermione said excitedly. "Hell, make it twenty. I didn't even know about that potion until I was a fifth year. That's exactly what I had in mind, but for the seventh years. Someone else care to enlighten us? If you can think of something for an eighth year, I promise you at least forty points."

Elina rolled her eyes and raised her hand. She couldn't let this go on, well, she could, but then the class would go nowhere. "The Bubble-Aura potion."

"Ten points to Gryffindor because that it exactly what I wanted," Hermione exclaimed. She hopped onto her desk and crossed her legs. "If you can turn my two pages of notes into ten sentences or less, you get ten points and something new that I am starting. Basically, the first class to reach fifty points gets a pizza party. Here's your first chance for a point."

"The Bubble-Aura potion is the same as the Aura potion, only rather than showing-"

"What is an aura?" Hermione interrupted Elina. Miles raised his hand. "Slytherin."

"An aura is a distinctive quality or character of a person that only a single person has, which is individual from anyone else's. The Aura potion takes distinct pieces of who you are, after taking a piece of DNA, and, well, they float around a few feet above the cauldron. With the Bubble-Aura, basically the image of your head floats above the cauldron and, well, makes a personal ad," Miles ended with a grin.

Hermione tried to control her laughter and jumped down from the table. "Miles, not only do you get the ten points, but you also get another five for your creativity and one point towards that pizza party. That is a perfect explanation. How about everyone copies the notes on the board and when you're done, just put your quill down and we'll go deeper into discussion about this potion."

"So how did I do?" Hermione asked Elina after class.

"Better than the bake sale at least," Elina joked. The class was actually enjoyable. Everyone took notes and Hermione handed out nearly completed potions while she asked and answered questions for thirty minutes. Everyone did the last three steps before adding their DNA and listening to what their bubble-auras had to say. Elina had fun learning about her classmates, especially Miles, who, she found out, loved to read. The bubble-auras only said five pieces of information, including name, age and house.

"What do you think about my pizza party idea?"

Elina thought for a moment. "Do you think you can fix it so that this class wins?"

Hermione laughed and slapped Elina's arm. "What do you have next?"

Elina took her schedule out of her bag and looked at it. "Your favorite person, Professor Malfoy." Hermione rolled her eyes. "So what's the deal with him?"

Hermione sat in her desk and thought for a moment about what she was going to tell Elina. "When I knew him, back what I was a student here, he was, well, he was an arrogant prick who made my life miserable. He was a completely stereotype pureblood who lived off of 'Daddy's Rep' and was just not a pleasant person."

"Sounds like a character," Elina said. She'd _never_ heard her mother talk about anyone but her ex-boyfriends that way. "Wait a minute. Did you two ever, you know?"

"No! Never! Get your mind out of my nightmares and off to class." Hermione slid off the desk and began walking Elina to the door.

"So you _have_ dreamt about it?"

"Out!" Hermione opened the door, almost causing Miles to fall into the classroom. She smirked and looked from one teen to the other. "I'll see you later Elina. Now both of you get to class before I have to take points away. Ciao."

Elina and Miles walked to Charms together. They had the same schedule, as it was both of their first year, which they were secretly jumping for joy about. They spent the entire walk talking about their first potions class.

"Er, Elina," Miles said as they neared the classroom, "I was talking to Draco and he said that there was going to be quidditch tryouts this week, so I was wondering, you know, cause I was going to try to get on the team and-"

"Miles," Elina interrupted him with a smile, "I'd love to watch you try out."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but you have to come watch me." Elina smiled and opened the door. Miles, who was obviously a lady's man, was obviously getting tongue tied, especially when Elina was around. "After you."

Draco's class, rather than beginning by scaring the kids, then pulling a 180, started with an empty classroom.

"Where is he?" Elina asked Miles.

"I heard that the students used to call him the Pureblood Prince," a Ravenclaw girl said.

"I heard that he was called the Slytherin Prince," a Slytherin boy said.

"Sex God was what my cousin told me," a Hufflepuff girl added.

Elina and Miles looked at each other. Miles tried not to say or do anything, especially laugh.

"I heard that he-"

All of a sudden, the Ravenclaw girl burst into laughter. The Slytherin boy began to levitate a few feet above his seat. Two students sitting next to each other changed sizes, one getting bigger and the other one shrinking. The Hufflepuff girl jumped up and began to dance all around the classroom. A Gryffindor girl began to belt out the lyrics to the school song.

"Where am I?" a Hufflepuss boy asked, looking around the room in confusion.

Miles and Elina looked at each other and began to crack up. They looked just like each other, except in a purple and green tint.

All of a sudden, there was a loud bang and flash of smoke and lights and Draco emerged from the chalkboard. Everyone stopped what they were doing and returned to normal.

"I'm sorry students, but if you intend on throwing wild parties in my classroom, I would appreciate it if you would at least lay out some good snacks," he said with a smile. "Welcome to your first day of Third Year Charms. I'm gonna start by being a hardass and you're not going to tell anyone about that slip. I want everyone to spend the rest of the period figuring out what charm I placed on you and writing me a one-page essay then learn the spell. At the end of the period, I want you to place the spell on the person you're sitting next to."

Draco watched as the class began to research their spells, noticing the girl from the plane sitting next to Miles. She looked a lot like her sister, but there was something about her that seemed different. Was it the tame hair? Maybe it was the fact that she was obviously more outgoing. Oh well.

"Perfect," Draco said to Miles at the end of the period. "Five to Gryffindor. Wow, that's something I never thought I would say, haha. All right, class dismissed. I'll see you on Thursday."

Draco watched the class leave with Miles and Elina in the front. He put the collected essays in a folder and decided to walk around the campus until lunch, as he did not have another class until then.

Everything was just as he remembered. He walked onto the quidditch field. It was here, in this very spot, where he found out that he was going to be a father. He and Sadie had charmed a crystal that he kept in his bag that lit up and vibrated when she went into labor or needed him. Over by the Whomping Willow was where he found out that Miles had taken his first steps. Down by the lake was where he found out that Miles said his first word, "pudding." There were so many memories that he missed out on.

Draco sat back on the rock by the lake and let the sun shower his body in warmth.

"You look comfortable," an almost sour voice said from above him.

Draco opened his eyes and looked up. "Granger."

Hermione sat down beside Draco and looked out onto the lake. There were so many memories. This was the spot where she found out that she was pregnant _and_ first began to go into labor. "So how's your first day back been?" she asked in a distant voice.

"Well, no student will call my class boring, I can tell you that much," Draco smirked. "How about you?"

Hermione sighed and leaned back. "Not bad, not bad, though I must warn you that we might be seeing quite a bit of our siblings hanging out together. They seem to have taken a liking for one another."

"So I've seen," Draco agreed with a chuckle. "The scary thing is that I think it's your blood that's coming off stronger, for once. Well, except for that one incident back in third year."

Hermione laughed at the memory. "Hormones."

Draco let out a loud 'ha.' "Sure, hormones. Next you'll be telling me that being a know-it-all was just a phase."

"Well it was," Hermione said, defending herself. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not quite a quiet know-it-all like you remember me being."

"Well, I do remember you being a bit flirtatious on the plane," he said with a grin and a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his arm. "I wasn't alone there."

"So there _was_ flirting? Thank goodness," he pretended to wipe his forehead. "I was beginning to thinking that it was all in my head."

"So you were thinking about it?"

"Maybe."

"Then why didn't you ever call?"

Draco sat up and looked at Hermione. "Now I thought we discussed that, Miss Mye."

Hermione looked at Draco. She never would have expected to be fooling around like this with him, well, she did, but when she thought he was Drake. "Must be my old memory Drake," she laughed.

"Oh, well if you're old, then so am I. Don't forget, we were in the same graduating class."

Hermione closed her eyes and took in the smell of Hogwarts. "Yep. I missed this place so much."

Draco looked around. "What were we like as kids?"

"Horrible," she replied almost instantly.

"Well thanks for taking the time to think about your answer to my rhetorical question."

Hermione opened her eyes and smiled at Draco. "Well did you expect anything else? You were a pureblood horndog and I was the smart girl who got dru-dragged out with Harry and Ron on all of their adventures, breaking all the rules and-"

"Dru…? Come on Hermione. Don't expect me to believe that you were _actually_ going to say that you were dragged out with the Wonder Boys every time you saved the world."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I got drunk when I was Elina's age at a party, I can't believe I'm telling you this."

"Hermione, getting drunk at a party isn't exactly the most uncommon thing," Draco said sarcastically.

Hermione blushed. "Yeah, I guess it happens to a lot of teenagers."

"So do tell me," Draco said, sitting up straight, "what were Potty and Weasel like as teens?"

"Oh the goodies who were always either saving the world or getting chased by their co-eds," Hermione joked. "They're doing great now. Harry and Ginny divorced, but Ginny's planning his wedding, and I'm sure you've seen Harry in at least ten newspapers with Ron as his extremely famous lawyer. Everyone has made quite a life for themselves."

"I've noticed. I heard that Weasley married Loony."

"Her name is Luna."

"Sorry."

Hermione looked at Draco. He had grown so much during their eleven (?? Eep! I'm having trouble with my math!) years out of school. Maybe it was a good thing that they were getting a second chance to get to know each other.

"So I never knew you had a brother," Hermione said. "Then again, none of us really wanted another Draco Malfoy running around in the world, haha."

"Gee thanks," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "It's not like you exactly went around telling everyone that you have a sister."

Hermione tried not to look away. She'd lied to everyone about Elina, this should be just like all those other times. "My mum gave birth to her when we were in school. Only my friends really knew about her. I didn't want anything to happen to her while we were going from life-threatening adventure to another, haha."

"Hm, well I guess that makes sense," he laughed. "You always did have to be such little goodies, didn't you?"

"Well it sure beat being a pureblood prick," she said with a wink.

Hermione and Draco talked and caught up until the lunch bell rang.

"So where were you before this?" Draco asked as they headed towards the castle.

"Er," Hermione though for a minute, "Italy. We lived there for about a year."

"Wow. France, Manhattan, Greece, Israel _and_ Italy. That must have been pretty hard on Elina."

"Actually she was pretty good," she said. "She had no problem making friends and still keeps in touch with almost all of them. We even use the floo network to set up play dates."

"So why again does she live with you?" Draco asked. Hermione skimmed over the reason before when they were exchanging war stories (raising a kid on their own).

Hermione grabbed an apple from a tree branch they were passing and took a bite. "My parents and I thought it would be easier to raise her in a magical environment, plus it was originally supposed to be a one-month thing while they were taking care of my great-gran. How about you? What's with you and Miles? I'm sure he wouldn't have minded being raised with the silver platter."

Draco chuckled at her comment and looked at the clouds. "With father in prison my mother was a wreck. I stayed with her until she was better which, surprisingly, only took about two or three weeks. She decided to disappear for a while at some spa resort thing, so Miles ended up coming with me to Ireland. When mum came home, she saw how great we were and decided that it would be a smart move for him to stay with me, especially with the random searches made by the ministry."

"How long was she gone?" Hermione asked.

"Just over three months."

They were silent for a few minutes before Draco began to chuckle randomly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Look at us. Teenage parents," he explained.

"Who are you calling a teenager? Someone here is celebrating the big 2-9 in a few weeks." Hermione was quiet for a moment, trying not to let the smile falter from her face. "Not quiet how anyone would have seen our future."

"I was just shy of fifteen years when I found out about Miles," Draco said absentmindedly.

Hermione looked out into the distance. "Same here. People sometimes even see me and Elina walking around and ask if I'm her mother."

"Most people just assume I'm Miles' father. I feel older and older each time it comes up," Draco said.

"He looks just like you," Hermione said as they reached the doors, "except he has someone else's nose."

"Don't forget the hair," Draco added as they stepped into the building. "At least he doesn't have the attitude."

"Thank goodness."

"Er, listen," Draco said, stopping Hermione in the middle of the corridor, "I-I know we had a horrible childhood together, but maybe we can have a truce?"

Hermione smiled. "How about dinner?"

"So how was your first day?" Elina asked Hermione as they snuck back to the Ravenclaw dorms. They'd lost track of time and spent almost three hours talking about Elina's first day, the friend's she'd made so far, the teachers and the uniforms.

"It was interesting." She looked down at Elina. "Did I scare you second period?"

"I was ready to accuse you of being Draco Malfoy," Elina joked. "Why would you try to scare us all like that?"

Hermione shrugged. "It felt like a fun way to startle everyone. You should have been there for my second year Slytherin and Gryffindors. I started the class with special effects. At two o'clock exactly every mini-cauldron I placed on the tables erupted with sparkles and fireworks."

"Sweet." Elina stopped in the corridor and looked up at Hermione. "Er, _mum_," she whispered, "I was talking with a few of my classmates and I was thinking about going out for the quidditch team."

"So _that's_ what you called me 'mum' for?" Hermione laughed softly and put her arm around Eina. "You've seen Harry's scars, but if you want to take the chance and promise to be safe, I trust you. I mean, you've trained with a professional team."

"Thanks mum," Elina squealed.

"Any time Lini," Hermione said, hugging her kid. "So," she said, separating and continuing down the hall, "what position were you thinking about?"

"I don't know," Elina said with a shrug. "Probably seeker or chaser."

Hermione smirked. "Seeker, huh? I think Harry's told you what a babe-magnet it made him a few too many times."

Elina laughed. "Harry's getting married for the second time next month. Some girl sends him her dirty, er, undergarments. I'm not so sure how adult mating rituals go, but that's not quite something that would interest me all that much."

"So you already told Miles that you play and want to look good for him?"

"So not." Elina said the password and turned to Hermione before going into the common room. "I'll see you in the morning. Thank you for sneaking me back to the common room. Good night."

Hermione bid Elina good night and headed back to her quarters.

"Stop it dad," Hermione heard a whisper from around the corner.

CLIFFY!!! This is so not where I saw it going, but not bad if I say so myself. Sorry about the delay, but I hope you enjoyed this. Please R&R


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Okay, even I'm getting confused so here's the deal: Hermione is 28; her birthday is in one week. She was just shy of fourteen when she got pregnant. Elina was born in April.

Draco is a few weeks younger than Hermione. Miles' birthday is also in April.

Miles and Elina are both in their fourth year and fourteen years old.

Hermione gasped and hid behind the corner. She strained her ears to hear the voices as they walked towards her. Was there another parent in the school?

"I told you not to call me that, kid."

It was Draco!

"You may be my brother, but you've been the one raising me for the past, how many years again? Oh yeah. My whole life." Was that Miles?

"And don't you forget it. You make me feel old when you call me 'dad.'"

"You raised me, I think that qualifies," Miles said. He mumbled something else that Hermione couldn't understand, but she heard their footsteps come closer and closer and ran off towards her room.

"Hermione!"

Hermione looked up when she heard the shocked reaction come from the open kitchen. She was wearing nothing but a towel, as she had just taken a long bath, and was not face-to-face with Draco, who was in the middle of making a sandwich.

"Oh!" She ducked behind the couch and looked at him. "H-hi Draco. What are you doing up so late?"

Draco lifted the bread and gave her a smirk. "Hungry?"

Hermione looked around the room, trying to find a path to the kitchen so he couldn't see her.

"Hermione, we're adults. I think it would be okay if I saw you in a towel."

Hermione blushed and stood up from her crouching position. She walked slowly towards Draco, but stopped herself suddenly. "Why don't I just throw on a robe?"

"I thought we were adults."

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "It'll be short," she said as she walked up the stairs.

As soon as Hermione closed the door, she threw her drawers open. She didn't know what to say to Draco after hearing Miles call him "dad." She put on a pair of short boxers from university and a tank top before looking into the mirror and taking a deep breath.

"It's okay Hermione," she told herself. "He's just a fellow teacher who took care of his brother. Don't forget that he shagged half of the Hogwarts population and does not see you as anything more than that."

She took one more breath and went back downstairs, putting her hair in a long ponytail as she hopped down the steps, remembering what she'd heard two weeks before. Things hadn't been bad while living with him. Their dinner from the first day of school still hadn't been planned, but she wanted it to happen.

"Y'know, for so little clothes it takes you quite a while to get dressed," Draco joked as Hermione walked up to him.

She looked over the counter to see what was spread out. "What are we eating?"

"Well, I thought we could start off with some bread," Draco began, "with a bit if turkey, lettuce, mayonnaise, and, my favorite part, potato chips."

Hermione moaned at the sandwich. "That sounds yummy." She leaned over some more, until she was on hr tip toes and reached over him to get tot the cookie jar. "But you forgot the chocolate chip cookie layer."

Draco laughed and took the cookie from her hand and put it on top of the sandwich before closing it. He cut it in half and put each half onto a plate. Hermione grabbed two bottles of water.

"Oh no you don't," Draco said, taking the bottles out of her hands. "Tonight needs something more special." He pulled a bottle of soda out of the refrigerator.

Hermione laughed and took the plates to the table in her living room. "What's the special occasion and where are the cups?"

"Who needs cups?" Draco said, taking a seat on the couch. He took a bite of the sandwich and made a face. "That's interesting."

Hermione giggled as she picked out the lettuce. "Elina came up with it when she was five."

Draco laughed. "The gift of living with children, but it's pretty good. Miles came up with something similar: white bread, cream cheese, chocolate chip cookies and any ice cream toppings in the house."

Hermione tried to hold in her laughter with her mouth filled with crumbs. "He's like your clone."

"I would never have eaten anything like that at his age."

"I meant looks. It's like he's your miniature."

Draco looked up from his sandwich. "That happens with brothers."

"He doesn't have your nose, or family skin tone. Are you sure you didn't just knock a girl up?" Hermione didn't mean to sound insensitive, but it blurted out. She looked down at her sandwich after a few moments of silence. "Sorry, that was rude."

Draco cleared his throat. "That's what my ex-wife thought."

Hermione took the bottle of soda and took a sip. "Why did you break up, if you don't mind me asking."

Draco took the bottle from her and took a long gulp. "She was a high maintenance bitch who liked money and my best mate. Miles and I left for Spain as soon as the papers were signed."

"Why didn't you just send Miles back home?" Hermione asked, leaning in towards Draco.

Draco leaned back and took a bite of the sandwich. "Home wasn't too great of a place for him. I thought it would be better to just keep him with me, and mum wasn't around enough to argue."

Hermione nodded. "Draco, I heard Miles call you 'Dad' before."

Draco coughed up the food in his mouth. "It's a nickname."

Hermione cradled the soda in her hands and took a sip. "Geez I wish this was something stronger." She uncrossed her legs, which were in a yoga-like position, and reached for her wand to conjure up a bottle of vodka. She honestly wasn't a drinker, but she needed something to loosen her up.

"Draco, I want us to be friends," she said. "We're working together and living in a shared area. Our k-kid siblings are obviously friends. Can we be friends too? I know we weren't too close when we were students."

Draco took the bottle of vodka from Hermione's hand and took a long sip. "As long as you keep supplying the goods and wearing that, I'm sure I can fit you in," he said with a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes and took another bite of her sandwich. "You are _such_ a kid, Malfoy."

"Seeing how I raised one for, how many years again?"

"Fourteen, minus school years."

"Seeing how I raised one for fourteen years, I'd say that I'm not too bad."

Hermione grinned and nodded her head. "At least you haven't been your old self for the past two weeks."

"Oh really?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrow. "How so?"

Hermione looked up and put her finger to her chin. "Let's see, you're not as much of an arse, but you did take three points away from Elina the other day…"

"She and Miles…oh you know the story. You took five from them too, y'know."

"I know, I know. What else? You have been very courteous and respectful to your superiors," she continued. "And haven't picked any fights."

"Like that's all that difficult."

"You also haven't been skirt chasing or sneaking off to do so."

Draco leaned in and looked at Hermione. "Says who?"

Hermione felt her chest tighten. She and Draco had been very friendly, maybe borderline flirtatious, but she saw her classmates and Elina more than him. She reached quickly for the bottle of soda, accidentally taking the vodka, and took a long gulp before Draco could get any closer.

Draco leaned back and smirked. He took the bottle from her hand and took a sip before handing it back. "Hermione, you need to relax a little."

Hermione, feeling the alcohol take affect, looked up at him and grinned. "Relax?" She leaned forward, balancing on her hands a few inches from his legs. "I am Miss Relax! I go to parties and clubs and dates and I am the cool mom!" She began to giggle and looked away for a few seconds. "Draco, I'm fun!" She leaned back in a relaxing slouch and smiled. "If I relax even more I'll turn into Jell-O."

Draco laughed at her. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, you're relaxed. You need to let go a little though." Hermione tried to say something, but Draco cut her off. "I'm taking you out and don't you dare try to stop me."

Draco stood up and took her hand to pull her up. Hermione got to her feet, a little wobbly, and looked up at Draco. "So where are we going?"

He put his face really close to hers and whispered, "It's a surprise."

Hermione jumped up and down, excitedly, and let Draco lead her up to her room. It was a combination of her slight tipsiness and excitement that caused her behavior, but Draco didn't question it and just laughed.

"The first thing we're going to do is get you into some clothes."

Hermione shook her head and led him to her bed. "No. We're going out tomorrow. Tonight we dance!" She waved her wand, which she grabbed on her way upstairs, and music began to play. She moved Draco's arms around and began to move to the rhythm.

Draco laughed and moved with her. "When did you become the party animal?"

Hermione laughed with him and spun around. "Who said I never was?"

They kept talking and joking around as they moved to the fast-paced music. Draco watched Hermione's eyes light up every time she smiled or remembered something happy. She was definitely not the girl he remembered from his years as a student.

"I made the team!" Elina squealed as she ran up to Miles.

Miles grabbed her and spun her around as she laughed with excitement. "Congratulations!"

"So I guess we're going to have to go hear-to-head in a few weeks," Elina said when Miles put her down. The first game of the season was coming up soon and it was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

"I suppose we are, but how about a trip to the lake to relax until then?" Miles suggested.

"Give me a moment to get changed," Elina told him. She ran off to the changing area.

For the first four weeks of school they had spent every available moment together. Elina had never felt that was about anyone. It was like how her mum described her time with Harry and Ron, but it felt different than she explained.

Elina had had boyfriends before, well, Timmy James for a few weeks and Ben Meloni for three months, but that was different. With Miles, it was more. She felt like he was a best friend who she wanted to be with…as more, but she was too afraid to do anything, in fear of ruining what they had.

Miles watched Elina run off. She was so beautiful. He knew that he'd had failed "relationships," but he just wanted to be with Elina. He loved that they were so close and spent so much time together, but it was all he could do to not have more.

Sometimes when they were together he felt upstaged, which was something he had _never_ experienced before with _anyone_, but with her, he didn't mind. He liked how smart she was and open, fun, outgoing, and everything about her, but he couldn't risk doing anything unless he knew how she felt.

"I see someone here enjoyed the Ravenclaw tryouts," Miles heard from behind him

He turned around and saw Darren, a sixth year from his house.

"Oh, er-"

"I know what you're trying to say, she's great."

Miles felt a lump in his throat. Did Darren like him? Darren was tall, tan, handsome, smart, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and anything a girl could ask for, plus he was older and the most popular guy in the school. Miles knew that he wouldn't stand a chance if Darren went for Elina.

"Um, yeah," Miles said with a shrug. Maybe Darren wouldn't try anything if he didn't think he had any competition.

Darren chuckled. "Y'know, a lot of guys have had their eyes on her since the Hogwarts Express. She's pretty mature for her age. No one believed me when I told them that she was barely fourteen."

Miles' head shot up at Darren. "You knew he before she came here?"

The older boy chuckled and nodded his head. "Very well. We were pretty close when I stayed with her and Hermione last summer in Italy. I could barely believe she was the girl I used to play with at Ron Weasley and Harry Potters houses. She has really matured over the years. Ah, speaking of the devil." Elina ran up between the boys, as though forming a triangle. "Hello Elina. Nice flying."

Elina giggled and looks down, as though trying to hide a blush. "Thanks." She looked back up into Darren's eyes. "I practiced with the team last summer a little."

Darren chuckled and dug his hands into his pockets. "Well then I'm sure you'll give us a hard time in November. Give us a few minutes, though. Don't want to make us look bad, now do you?"

"Well, since it's Hermione's house, I think I can take it down to 98 percent."

Miles watched Darren and Elina talk ad the words flowed out of their mouths in a smooth rhythm without missing a beat.

"Thanks, I'm sure you may still have the upper hand." He turned to Miles. "So you're the one who's been monopolizing my girl's time, huh?" Darren asked, putting his arm around Elina.

Elina giggled and swung her arm around Darren's shoulder. "Sorry babe, I'm cheating on you with a younger man. I hope it doesn't break your heart."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll win you back, just give me some time." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I think I'll leave you two to keep sneaking around. You take care of my girl."

"We're going to the lake if you want to meet up later," Elina said before Darren left. "Bring some of your hot friends. I still haven't had a chance to get them to like me better."

"You just try," Darren said with a wink before running off.

Miles stood in silence. He didn't know what to say.

"Come on," Elina said, taking Miles' hand. She ran to the lake with him at her heels, still silent.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"I heard that someone made the Quidditch team!" Elina heard behind her as a heavy person swung her arms around her with a bottle of Butterbeer.

"Ah! Hermione!," Elina squealed. "Get off of me!"

Hermione rolled onto the grass and looked up at her daughter. There was a glow about her that let Hermione see her from miles away and pick her out with her eyes closed.

"Sorry love," she said with a giggle. "but I can't help but be excited that the girl who practiced with a professional team made her school team."

Elina rolled her eyes at her mother. "Sometimes you can be such a kid _Professor Granger_."

The girls laughed together and looked around the lake. There was a group of Elina's classmates and other fellow students sitting around. Hermione had obviously sat in on a gathering of friends.

"Sorry children," Hermione said with a giggle. "You all carry on. I'll catch this one later."

Everyone bid their favorite professor farewell and went back to what they were doing.

"I swear, she's like a child sometimes," Elina joked.

"I heard that!"

Hermione watched Elina with her friends. She never had any trouble making friends. There was something spectacular about her that drew people to her.

"There's something special about that girl," she heard Draco say.

He walked up beside her and looked at the group of teenagers. They saw Darren walk up to Elina with a few friends. Miles looked up at Darren while he and Elina were talking as though he wanted to pounce him.

Draco chuckled. "It looks like mine is a bit infatuated with yours."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "You might want to let him know that Darren is like a brother to her." Draco smiled when he heard that. "I caught them only a few months ago, but I made sure it didn't progress."

"_What_?"

"Darren stayed with us last summer and they got a little closer than usual," she explained absentmindedly. "I caught them making out on my couch when everyone was at our house for her birthday."

Draco stared at Hermione. "And you let this go on in your house?"

"Of course not!" She exclaimed. "I spoke to Elina. He was still fifteen and she was fourteen, so there wasn't much of an age difference, but it's important for me that she knows about getting serious with a boy. I don't want her to make the same mistake I did," she trailed off, deep in her thoughts.

Draco stared at Hermione. She realized what she said and stared right back. "Granger?"

Hermione giggled nervously and leaned against the tree. "Forget about it Malfoy. You're guessing wrong. So tell me, where are we going tonight?"

"Well, I was thinking of going into Hogsmead for dinner and walking around for a bit," he told her. "A walk down memory lane before we begin to party."

"You're going on a date with _Malfoy_?" Elina exclaimed. She had stopped in Hermione's quarters before dinner to talk to her mother.

Hermione turned around form inside her closet and rolled her eyes. "It isn't a date. We both have the night off tonight so we're going to catch up. Usually the professors don't do anything other than go for a drink after curfew."

Elina uncrossed her legs and walked over. She took the clothes out of Hermione's hands and pulled out her favorite outfit. "Flowy red skirt. Yellow halt-"

"It's October Lini."

"Black sweater. Black knee-high boots."

Hermione took the clothes and smiled. "This would be the perfect outfit. If only it was a date."

"You're going on a date with my potions professor?" Miles exclaimed.

Draco rolled his eyes at his son. "This isn't a date. We're just two colleagues who are going out for dinner and catching up.

"But you were never friends and she's hot."

Draco hit Miles on the back of the head with a grin. "She's not the only Granger sister you find attractive."

Miles blushed and sat down on the bed. "Too bad she's spoken for."

Draco wanted to tell Miles what Hermione had said at the lake, but didn't know how to tell him. Instead, he knelt down and put his arm around Miles. "Miles, if you want her, you go for her. She's only spoken for if she says she is."

Miles looked up at his dad and smiled. "Thanks." He jumped up from the bed and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Come on," he heard Elina's voice urge from the other side of the wall. "You're going to be late."

"Don't rush me or I'll take away house points," Hermione said.

He looked around the wall at Elina pulling Hermione down the stairs. Elina looked very excited about the date her sister and his dad were going on, but Hermione looked ready to call it a night already.

Hermione saw Miles in the kitchen and asked, "will your brother be coming down any time soon? This one is beginning to get on my nerves."

Elina blushed and tried not to make eye contact with Miles.

"Don't bother, I'm here," Draco said as he entered the kitchen with a smile.

Hermione couldn't help but check out her former classmate. He was handsome in school, on the plane, at the professors' table, but he was _hot_ with jeans and a black shirt.

Draco was doing the same thing. He couldn't believe the shy bookworm he used to torment had grown into such a beautiful woman. He already found her attractive, but tonight there was something special about the way her jeans hugged her bottom and her top fell where there was just enough room for imagination, covered by an open sweater with her hair flowing down to her back and the heels her boots clicking with every step she made.

Hermione held out her elbow and said, "hello Malfoy. Are you ready for your evening off?"

Draco smiled and took her elbow. "As long as I get away from these two."

Hermione laughed and led Draco to her doorway. "Lini, make sure you don't throw any parties while we're out," she called over her shoulder as the door closed.

Elina looked at Miles. He'd been behaving strangely since her tryout. "Miles, are you okay?" she asked.

Miles opened the refrigerator and took out an apple. "Yeah Ellie, why do you ask?"

She leaned over the counter as Miles turned around to catch him in a kiss, but she heard a knock at the portrait hole.

"I wonder who that could be."

Elina and Miles walked over to the entrance and looked through a one-way hole to see who was outside. To their surprise, it was Darren. Elina opened the doorway and welcomed him in.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile.

"Interrupting a romantic evening, apparently," he replied, looking over at Miles, who had sulked over to the couch without either friend noticing.

Elina wanted to tell Darren what he had actually interrupted, but didn't want Miles to know how upset she really was. "Don't worry. We're just two innocent teenagers alone in the professors' suite at night."

Darren laughed. "Well I was going to ask you if you wanted to sneak into Hogsmead with-"

"Hermione and Professor Malfoy are there."

"Oh, well that's a shame," Darren said. "We were going to go to the Hog's Head, but thanks for the warning. What time are they coming home?"

Elina shrugged. "How many friends were you going with?"

"Just a few sixth and seventh years," he told her. "Julie and Tad, Bobby and Cora, Sam, Frankie and, we were hoping, you. You too Miles."

Elina thought for a minute. Seven people isn't a part; nine, including herself and Miles. "Why don't you just come here," she suggested. "Just keep it calm, evidence-free and on the down low. Oh, and you _have_ to be out those windows the second we hear Hermione come back."

Darren smiled. "I knew I kept you around for a reason," he told her with a pat on the head. "I'll go get everyone and we'll be right back." He turned around and ran out the doorway.

Elina walked over to Miles. "Do you mind if I have them over?"

Miles looked up at Elina. He wouldn't mind if she threw a bucket of water on his face. She was so beautiful and sweet and intelligent and just perfect. It was like there was a light that followed her around wherever she went that made it impossible to be upset…unless Darren was around. "Not at all."

Darren returned a few minutes later with his friends. Elina let them in, after changing out of her uniform and into her mother's denim skirt and T-shirt with a picture of Harry's team's mascot.

All of Darren's friends were stunned that they were in a professor's quarters. They were polite to Elina and Miles when they came in and thanked Elina for stopping them from going to Hogsmaed and showed her their gratitude with a bottle of firewhiskey they had snuck in their last time they went out.

"So Elina, how do you know Darren?" Bobby asked Elina when they were getting cups and chips.

"His dad and m-my sister are friends," she said, catching herself before she said 'my mother.'

Miles watched as Elina instantly clicked with the older students. Bobby and Sam were in Ravenclaw, with her, and Cora and Tad, siblings, were in Hufflepuff. He knew Frankie from the Gryffindor quidditch team as the keeper.

Elina was having a blast talking with Darren's friends. She always connected well with people of all ages, and they seemed to like her as well. They called it an early night, though, because it was an hour past curfew and they were in the professors' quarters. Luckily, though, no one drank a lot and they were able to get back to their dorms successfully.

Darren stayed behind to help Elina and Miles clean up the small mess left by his friends.

"It was really cool of you to let us come here tonight," he told them.

"It was nothing," Elina said happily. "We had fun. You have great friends."

"Well you still didn't have to. I know how upset Hermione would get if she knew. She could get fired if anyone found out."

Elina's head shot up. She hadn't even thought about what might happen to Hermione. They may have had to move again! Though she didn't mind moving all the time, she wanted to stop for just a few years. The longest time she was ever in the same place was when they lived in Greece for just over three years.

"Don't worry," Miles said with his arm around her frozen shoulder. "You're not leaving this place any time soon," he told her, knowing what was wrong.

"Thanks," she said.

"Everything seems to be back where it was," Darren said, snapping Elina out of her thoughts. "I'm going to go back to the common room. Are you coming Miles?"

"No. I'm just going to stay until Draco comes back," he said, even though that wasn't the whole plan.

Elina and Darren said good night and he left to return to the tower.

"That was fun," she said as she jumped onto the couch beside Miles.

Miles agreed, not knowing what to say.

Elina looked at Miles and put her hand over his. "Thanks for comforting me before. I was really scared."

He couldn't stop himself as he wrapped his arms around her. "I meant it. You're not leaving me."

Elina smiled into his shoulder and sighed. She put her arms around him too. "Thanks."

Neither teen knew what to do. Miles thought Elina and Darren had something going on and Elina thought that Miles only thought of her as a friend.

She backed away, though and looked into his eyes.

"You're so beautiful," Miles wanted to say, but instead he said, "You and Darren are really close."

"We're just friends," she replied instantly, hoping it would lead to one of them making a move.

"You just seem so-"

"We kissed on my birthday, but that was the only time anything ever happened," she explained. "But in any other way he's always been a close friend."

The moment she brought up the kiss, Elina wished she could take it back. Miles took back something he was about to say, and she knew it.

"The kiss was because we got lost in a moment," she tried to go on with. "It was my birthday and I was upset because I had never kissed a boy and he comforted me, telling me that kissing isn't as great as everyone says, but then I told him that I _had_ kissed someone, but never someone important to me, and we talked and ended up kissing." She wanted to cut out her tongue for talking more, but couldn't stop herself. She wanted Miles to know that the kiss was nothing and there were no lingering feelings.

"It's okay," Miles said, knowing what Elina was doing. "I get it." He wanted her to stop talking about it because he was afraid that the kiss meant something, even though she was trying to explain that it didn't.

Elina breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't have a boyfriend right now. I haven't in a long time." She hoped that this would let him know that, if he ever saw her in any way other than a friend, she was available.

Miles wanted to get off the topic, because now he was starting to think she only saw him as a friend in order to share that. "What do you think our siblings are doing?"

Hermione laughed at Draco and wiped the ice cream off his nose. They had just finished an enjoyable meal at a muggle Italian restaurant they ran into by accident and were now walking along the streets with ice cream cones and shooting the breeze.

She had found out more about Draco's divorce and life with Miles and just information about who he was now. She liked this friendship that had formed between them.

Draco watched Hermione as she backed away after wiping off the ice cream. He half-wished she had liked it off as he watched her cute, pink tongue resume to licking her ice cream cone.

He loved learning more about the woman she had grown into and wanted to learn more.

"So why did you and Elina keep moving around?" He asked.

Hermione looked up and thought for a moment. She didn't know how to answer his question. "Well, nothing really stuck," she began. "I became a bit of a flake after we graduated. I wanted to go to university and just settle somewhere, but nothing ever felt right. It was horrible making Elina move, but she was always good with it. At one point we tried living as muggles when we lived in Greece, but I didn't want to hide her heritage from her." She laughed. "I'm surprised she turned out so great."

"She had a great role model," Draco said, looking down at the beautiful woman he used to torture.

Hermione blushed and took a long lick at her dessert. "What about you? Miles seems great. And by 'great,' I mean nothing like you as a child."

Draco chuckled. "Thanks. That's what I was aiming for." He sighed. "Moving him from the nuthouse manor to Ireland wasn't too great, neither was his-well, the divorce wasn't too pretty and neither was my ex. I think it's our strong relationship that keeps him level though. I remember my father and how he was with me. I don't want to repeat that line."

Hermione nodded silently. "Sometimes I feel like it's Elina who's raising me."

"How did we ever get here?"

"Booze and a lack of condoms?" Hermione joked.

Draco burst into a short laughter. "I think you're right. Or it could have been teenage hormones and a bad spell."

Hermione joined him in laughter until she realized what he said. "Wait, what?"

Draco mentally kicked himself. "My parents were eighteen when they married and I was born," he tried to save himself.

"Oh."

The two were silent as they continued walking down the road.

"So where are we going?" Hermione finally asked, hoping to put the last bit of conversation behind them.

"There's a club I used to go to when we were in seventh year," he said. "I thought it might be fun to continue our dance."

Hermione smiled and put the last piece of her cone into her mouth. "Good. I need a good workout after that meal."

Draco laughed. "I think it might take a few more before you're allowed to say that. You're perfect."

Hermione blushed and hit him on the arm. "Shut up! You're just trying to get into my pants," she joked.

"Oh come on," he said, "like I need a line other than 'hello, my name is Draco Malfoy' to get a girl in bed."

Hermione laughed and clapped her hands. "Okay. I was wrong. You didn't all change in the past twelve years."

"Well if you're going to hurt my feelings, I don't think I want to bring you tonight. Good night. I'll see you at the castle." He began to quicken his pace and walk away.

Hermione ran up to him and jumped onto his back. "Don't think you're getting rid of me that easily."

Draco grabbed her legs and spun around. They ended up in a nearby park running around in the sprinklers laughing until they fell on their backs and looked up at the stars.

"We can go dancing another night," Hermione panted.

"I don't think I'll be able to move for at least a week."

Hermione laughed and turned onto her stomach, looking into Draco's steel-blue eyes. She wanted to kiss him, but couldn't. She didn't want a reason to leave Hogwarts. "Then I think I'll just leave you here until then."

Draco smiled. He wanted to reach up and pull her into a kiss, but knew that he couldn't. He didn't want her to feel awkward and leave. "If you do, I'll pull you back and not let you go."

"I don't quite think Dumbledore would appreciate it if his charms teacher kept his potions teacher captive because of his laziness."

"Yeah" he agreed. "I don't think it would look too good on an application after I got fired for it."

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. She fell back onto her back and looked up. "I remember my favorite part of the day was always looking up at the stars."

"Day?"

"I meant during a class." She explained. "Numbers and spells are fun, but it's nice to just look up at something that can only change itself and goes by its own rules."

"That was my favorite class just for that reason," Draco said. "Why would anyone want to explain nature? It's beautiful without a reason, so why give it one?"

Hermione thought about what he said. "I never thought of it like that."

"I like this place. It's quiet."

She looked at Draco. "I like you like this."

Draco leaned over and kissed her. He couldn't hold himself back any longer, but was surprised when he felt her kiss him back.

She opened her mouth a little and rolled over so she was partially on top of him. He put his hands on her waist and deepened the kiss.

Neither one knew how long they were there, or even cared, until the sprinklers went off again one foot away.

They separated and ran away until they were back on the sidewalk hand in hand.

On the way back, neither Hermione nor Draco wanted to say anything to ruin the moment they had just shared, but Hermione knew that she had to.

She stopped walking and looked at him when he turned around.

"I'm sorry," he said before she could say anything.

"Stop," she said, putting a finger to his lips. "Draco, you're a great guy who I could see something happening with, but I can't. If anything were to happen, I can't have I become awkward. I need to be here for Elina."

"Can we start slower?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked into his eyes. She had never seen him like this. "It's a secret. We keep things as slow as possible. Just friends who date. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"If I kiss you again will it make you more confident?" he asked with a smirk.

Hermione smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Let's get back to the castle. I'm sure Elina and Miles have finished cleaning up their wild party."


End file.
